Feeder for whole citrus fruit



Dec. 23, -1952 A w. A. P||=K|N ET AL 2,622,733-

FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRUS FRUIT Filed Feb. l, 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 23, 1952 w. A. PIPKIN ET AL FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRus FRUIT 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l, 1947 Dec. 23, 1952 w. A. PlPKlN ET AL 2,622,733

FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRUS FRUIT Dec. 23, 1952 w. A. PxPKxN ET A1. 2,622,733

FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRus FRUIT Filed Feb. l, 1947 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 HE/VPY L. -$714/ TH IN V EN TOILSY A TTO/Q/VE'Y Dec. 23, 1952 w. A. PlPKxN lET AL 2,622,733

FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRUS FRUIT Filed Feb. l. 1947 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTO/Q/VEV W. A. PlPKlN ET AL FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRUS vFRUIT Dec. 23, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. l, 1947 INVENTORS Dec. 23, 1952 w. A. PlPKlN ETAL FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITEus FRUIT 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Feb. l, 1947 f4 T TOP/VE' V patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEEDER FOR WHOLE CITRUS FRUIT Application February 1, 1947, Serial No. 725,952

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for the extraction of liquids such as juice and rind oils from whole fruits and is particularly useful in the extraction of such liquids from citrus fruits.

In a co-pending application, Serial No. 544,424, of Wilbur A. Pipkin, an extraction apparatus having this general purpose is disclosed. This Pipkin extractor has a rotor mounted on a vertical axis and provided with a circumferentially spaced series of extraction devices, each of which employs vertically spaced compression elements, the upperl element of each device being vertically reciprocated as the rotor rotates to receive a whole citrus fruit between it and the lower element of that device and then to compress said fruit and, in one operation, extract the juice and rind oil separately from said fruit. The upper elements are operated by cams in response to the rotation of the rotor.

A whole fruit is fed mechanically into each extracting device when the upper element thereof is lifted. As said upper element again lifts following the extraction of liquid from said fruit, the depleted carcass of the fruit is elevated by an ejector from the lower extractor element and then whisked away by a mechanism provided for this purpose, thereby leaving this device ready to receive another whole fruit.

The capacity with which this Pipkin extractor can perform is enhanced by its having a means for feeding whole fruit thereto which will deliver the fruit to the respective extraction devices on the rotor at relatively high speed, yet without damage to the fruit, and which will make few misses, thereby enabling the machine to run at maximum capacity.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a whole fruit feeding and liquid extraction apparatus having a feeding device fullling the requirements noted.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel article feeding device, suitable for feeding articles singly for any desired purpose.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a view in plan of a preferred embodiment of the feeder of this invention associated with a Pipkin type extractor with the latter shown in section as taken on the line l--I of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a diagram in plan of the power transmission of said extractor.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of Fig. l, partly broken away on the section line 3 3 of Fig. 1, to illustrate the construction of said feeder.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l, and showing the details of construction of said feeder.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view taken on the line -1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional View of an extraction device of the invention in fruit compressing position.

Fig. 9 is a still further enlarged vertical sectional view of the upper and lower cups of an extraction device as these are coming together for a liquid extraction operation after an orange ha-s been fed into a lower cup and before such cups enter into interdigitating relation.

Fig. l() is a view similar to Fig. 9 and illustrates the completion of the compression of a whole fruit in the juice and peel oil extracting operation.

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of a preferred embodiment of the lower compression cup employed in the invention.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the upper compression cup employed in the invention.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged detailed horizontal Sectional view taken on the line |3l3 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 10 and illustrates a succeeding step in the operation of the invention in which the upper cup is lifted into upwardly spaced relation with the lower cup. The carcass of the whole fruit just operated upon is stripped downwardly from the upper cup and lifted upwardly from the lower cup into a position of readiness to be ejected from the machine.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the apparatus of this invention as shown therein, is embodied in a peel oil and juice extractor l5. This includes a pedesta1 I6, a central opening l1 of which receives a boss I8 of a cap plate l 9 having a cam wall 20. Fixed in a central bore 2| of the boss I8 is a shaft 22 to the upper end of which is fixed a head casting 23. The head casting 23 has arms 26 which are connected by rods 21 to the pedestal l 6 to rigidly unite and properly space the pedestal IB- from the head casting 23. The head casting supports a motor 28 which is connected through belts 29 and pulley 30 to a shaft 3| which, through bevel-gears 32 and 33,

3 rotates a shaft 34 carrying a master pinion Collars 38. surrounding the rods 27 and positioned vertically thereon by nuts 39, are formed integral with and support a lower annular cam G0. This cam is connected by brackets 45 to an ipper cam 48 so that the upper cam is forced upwardly into assembled relation with the head casting 23. As shown in Figs. l and 6, the upper cam 66 is disposed inwardly from and concentric with the lower cam t0. Resting on the plate i9 is a thrust bearing il which supports the rotor t8 of the machine. This rotor includes a rotor platform i9 which rests directly on the bearing lil, a slideway cylinder 5i) having upper and lower hub-like sleeves 5I and 52, the latter extending into the bearing lll and being keyed to the platform G9 by a key 53. Sleeves 5I and 52 have bushings 5ft and 55 which form bearings on the shaft 22. Mounted about the upper sleeve 5I and keyed thereto is a master gear 5t which meshes with the pinion 35.

The rotor platform t9 has an annular downward extension 80 near its outer edge which is provided with a series of I2 bores 6|. Ejector stem guide holes S2 are provided in the platform, one of these being disposed close to each of the bores 6| and inwardly therefrom as shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

The holes G2 are formed in downward extension of and in alignment with slideways 63 provided in the cylinder 5|). These slideways are given a T cross section (see Fig. 13) by slide gibs 64 secured to the outer face of the cylinder 50, these gibs having outward extensions 65 formed on the upper portions thereof.

The platform I9 is provided with a stainless steel apron 5l, having a cylindrical portion 68, which closely surrounds the lower portion of the cylinder 53 and is provided with slots 59 which register with the adjacent lower portions of the slideways S3. The apron B'I also includes a horizontal portion l which lies flat against the platform i9 and has holes il which register with the bores GI. Depending from the outer edge of the apron portion iii is an annular lip l2.

Each of the bores 6I receives a sleeve I3 having an upper flange M and threadedly receiving a nut l5 at its lower end to secure this sleeve in said bore and thus hold the apron G'I rigidly in place on the platform |59. A sheet metal annulus 'it is provided, this having an inverted U cross section to provide downwardly extending walls 'I9 and Sil, and holes which receive the lower ends of the sleeves i3 so that when the nuts i5 are tightened on the latter, the annulus 'i8 is united y the juice-receiving chamber Sli within the trough Si.

Leading rom the chamber SS to a juice reservoir 9| is a tube Q2. Also connecting with the reservoir el is a juice eduction pipe 93 and a gas supply pipe 91%.-

Mounted upon the rotor l is a series of extracting mechanisms Sil, each of which includes a lower cup 93and an upper cup` S9, with suiti able means for supporting and operating these. As all of the mechanisms 91 are identical, a description of one will suffice for all.

Illustrations of a lower cup 33 may be found in Figs. 10 and ll. This cup includes a stainless steel tube |93 which has a driven fit in one of the sleeves 'E3 so as to permanently x the tube i3 in this sleeve. Mounted in the upper end of the tube It@ (see Fig. l0) is a button cutter I0| having a central passage |82, an annular knife I 03 surrounding the upper end of this, and a sloping shoulder Iiifii which rests upon the upper end of the tube i.

Surrounding the tube It@ where this extends above the sleeve 'i3 is a cylindrical cup body Il having a set screw |98 which iixes this to the tube |39. Formed integral with the cup body |87 is a series of twenty-four fingers |09 which are circumferentially arranged in radial relation with the axis of the cup to form a cup bowl I I0 at the bottom of which is located the button cutter Iil. The fingers |69 are separated by slots l i i which are slightly wider than the fingers themselves. Certain of the slots I I are extended downwardly to form ejector slots |I2. There are preferably twenty-four iingers |539 and slots III in each cup 93 and six of the ejector slots I I2.

The ngers |99 may be reinforced as by an annular band IIS encircling the upper portion of the cup 98. The upper ends of the fingers |09 may be beveled as shown in Fig. l1 for a purpose to be made clear hereinafter. Fingers |09 preferably have notches I I4 provided therein to extend the cylindrical character of the body l'i upwardly as shown in Fig. 10.

Each cup 93 has an ejector Ii'l. This ejector includes a base ring I8 on which is fixed an actuating arm |I9 having a long eye |20 at its outer end. The base ring IIS also has formed thereon a series of ejector blades I2I, each of which lies in one of the ejector slots IIE. Each ejector II'I is adapted to rest in a downward position in which it is shown in Fig. 10 or to be elevated into an upper position in which it is shown in Fig. 14. When lifted to the latter position, the blades |2I extend upwardly through the bowl I|0 of the cup 98 to lift a carcass |22 of an orange upwardly out of this bowl.

Vertically slideable in a lower portion of the slideway 53 (see Fig. 14) adjacent each of the cups 93 is a T-head |23 having a shank |24 which extends downwardly through the slideway 6 3 and hole S2 in alignment therewith, this shank having a roller |25 mounted on its lower end so that this roller is in vertical alignment with the cam wall 20. The T-head |23 has a long eye |28 formed integral therewith, there being a rod |29 which screws into suitable threads provided in the eye I 2i! and also extends through the eye |28 and is secured in a given vertical relation therewith by nuts I 3i?.

The cam 20 lifts each roller |25 as the rotor 48 rotates to shift the ejector Il'l associated therewith from its lowermost position as shown in Fig. 6 to its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 9 and back again to its lowermost position. The period wherein this takes place will be pointed out hereinafter. When each of the T- heads |25 thus reciprocates, it extends through one of the slots 69 in the cylindrical portion 68 of the apron S?. (See Figs. 6 and 7.)

Illustrations of the upper cup 99 may be found in Figs. 9, l0 and 12. Each of these cups is mounted on a T-head ISI sliding in an upper portion of one of the slideways 63. This T-head |3| has a pair of cam follower rollers |32 and |33, the first of these following upper cam 36 and the other following lower cam d3. (See Figs. 1 and 8.)

The T-head |3| has a vertical bore |33 which is disposed in vertical alignment with the roller |32 and which has a counterbore |31, at the upper end of which is a shoulder |33. Slideable in the bore |33 is a cup stem |39 in the form of a shaft having an eye slot |33, there being a pin |4| mounted in the head |3| and extending through said slot to permit a limited degree of vertical movement of the stem |33 relative to the head |3|.

The lower end of the stem |33 (see Fig. le) has an annular iiange |32 and a threaded nipple |33 extending axially downward therefrom. Surrounding the stem |39 and resting downwardly on the flange |32 is a tube |31 having a housing head plate |38 flaring outwardly therel from and carrying a cylindrical housing shell |23. The tube |31 is externally threaded and has screwed thereon a bushing having a longitudinal groove |52 cut therein. Secured in the lower end of bore |31 so as to slideably receive the bushing |53 is a bushing |5|. Screwed into a threaded hole |53, formed in the wall of the bore |31 and in the bushing |5I, is a screw |54 having a guide tit |55 provided on its inner extremity, this tit extending into the guide groove l |52 of the bushing |53. Trapped in the counterbore |31 between the upper end of the bushing |53 and the shoulder |33 is a heavy coiled expansion spring |53.

The upper cup 33 (see Figs. 1) and 12) also includes a cup body |53 having a threaded bore |33 into which the nipple |33 screws to assemble the body |53 on the stem |33. The body is held in thisJ assembled relation by a set screw Iil. The body |53 has a series of twenty-four fingers |32 formed integrally therewith and spaced circumferentially in radial planes with respect to the axis of the cup 33. The inner surfaces of the fingers |32 are shaped to form an inverted bowl |33, the bottom |35 of which may be concave, or flat, or it may be convex as shown in Fig. 9. 1t is preferable, however, to make this convex, as shown. The fingers |32 `are separated by slots |13 which are slightly wider than the fingers.

Certain of the slots |13 are deepened to form slots |14 in which ejector blades |15 are slideably disposed. These blades are united by a collar |18 which is slideably mounted on the body |53 and is pressed against a shoulder |11 thereof by an expansion spring |18. When the collar |13 is thus yieldably held downward, the ejector blades |15 extend downwardly into the upper cup bowl |33 as shown in Fig. 9..

In each of the mechanisms 31 the upper and lower cups 39 and 93 are co-axial and the upper cup body |53 is so mounted on the stem |39 that the slots |13 of the upper cup are in alignment with the ngers |33 of the lower cup while the ngers |32 of the upper cup are in alignment with the slots of the lower cup. The ngers of the upper and lower cups thus by-pass each other in inter-digitating relation when the upper cup 33 is lowered as shown in Fig. 10.

The juice extractor i5 has a whole fruit feed and carcass removing mechanism |13 which embraces a primary feeder |33, a` secondary feeder IBI and a carcass remover |82 (see Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 5). The mechanism |13 includes a frame |83 provided with bearings |83 in which a shaft |35 is vertically xed. Other bearings including bearing |86 are provided on the frame |83 on which a shaft |81 is vertically journaled. Still other bearings including bearing |93 are provided on the frame |83 in which shaft |9| is vertically journaled. Other suitable bearings, not shown are providedv on the frame |33 in which a shaft |95 is vertically journaled. The frame |83 also has a bearing |33 in which is journaled a shaft |31.

The primary whole fruit feeder |33 includes a conical feed hopper deck 233, which is fixed on the upper end o'f the shaft |35 and held in non-rotatable relation therewith by a key 23|. This deck has a segmental shaped window 232 and an arcuate baille wall 233 disposed radially outwardly from the window 232 and rising upwardly from the deck. This Wall is shown in section in Figs. 3 and 4, in plan in Fig. l and in elevation in Fig. 5.

The peripheral portion of the deck 23|) which lies beyond the radius of the baffle wall 233 forms a fruit race 233. The fruit race 234 is cut away behind the baffle wall 233 to provide a discharge hole 235. Rotatably mounted on the shaft |85 between the upper bearing |33 and the hub of the conical deck 23| is the hub 2| of a primary fruit feeder wheel 2H. The hub 2|@ has xed thereon a sprocket 2|2 for driving the wheel 2|| which has a disk-like body 2|3, a frusto conical portion 2 lll of which is provided with a roughened annular track 2|5 which is adapted to travel continuously past the window 232 and directly therebeneath (see Figs. 1, 4 and 5), Extending radially from the outer edge of the wheel disk 2 I3 are spaced rods 2|5, the outer ends of which connect with and support an annular metal wall 2|1 of a fruit feeding annulus 2|8. This annulus includes a wooden ring 2|9 which has circumferentially spaced pockets 223 comprising vertical openings formed therein which open inwardly so that fruit deposited on deck 23| tends to roll into and be retained in the pockets 223 with one of said pieces of fruit to each of said pockets (see Fig. 1). The fruit, when thus located in the pockets 223, overlies and rests upon the fruit race 233 (see Fig. 3) Thus when the annulus 2|3 is rotated, in the manner to be pointed out hereinafter, individual whole pieces of fruit retained in the pockets 223 are successively brought over the hole 235 in the fruit race 234 and dropped through this hole. When the annulus 2 |13 is thus rotated, the roughened track 2 I5 -exposed through the window 232 moves continuously past this window s0 that fruit rolling against the baille wall 233 is constantly conveyed away from in front of this wall and in the direction of rotation of the primary fruit feeder thereby preventing fruit damming up in front of this baiile and overflowing.

The annulus 2|8 is also provided with an annular sheet metal hopper mouth 225 which is supported on six spaced brackets 226, fixed on the annular wall 2|1. The mouth 225 is mounted on the brackets 223 by bolts 221 which extend through suitable vertical slots 228 in the hopper mouth 225 t0 permit this to be adjusted vertically for a purpose which will be made clear hereinafter.

Fruit such as whole oranges F may be fed onto the deck 20|] either by dumping these from a box 0r by delivering them along a sloping chute 223.

The spaced rods 2 I3 of the primary fruit feeder |83 are located so as to lie between adjacent Dock-ets 220.

Thesecondary fruitLfe'ede'r I8I is mounted'v ony al'levf1''a.'lne.v |83 soxthatthe outer portion of'this feeder.; extends .beneath primary fruit feeder I right at the location ofV the,hole. 285A while; its opposite portion.. extends .betweenf the lower. and upper cups.v 98fand Swheretheseare separated by the upper: cup being;1iited"upwardly; The

feeder. |8| includes. a;.disklike oor 23S; whichv surrounds theshaft' land hasa-.discharge hole.

231 formed therein which overlies the lower cups 98 as'A these. passY therebeneath. The floor' 233 is' disposed close. above the level of ltheulpper ends ofthese cups. The' feeder IGI also includes a guidey Wall1238'r which partially'surrounds-the iloor 23S-as shownin Figs. 1 and`3. The wall 238 is concentric with the shaft |91, excepting the innerend'portion 235i thereof, which is concentric with the main rotory shaft22.

Fixed'on the shaft |91 is a feed wheel24` and a sprocket 24|, the wheel 2Q@ having a series of blades 242 between whichv are formedY an annular series of recesses 243 for the feeding of whole fruit. Each of these recesses is adapted to receive a single piece of fruit and` feed the same, this piece of fruit, while being sofed, being supported on the floor 235.

The carcass'remover |82 'comprises a noor plate 25|, which is mounted on thefraine I83'just in` advance of the secondary fruit feeder |8I'on a level close above the upper edges of the rind.

ejectors Il" cf the lower cups" when these ejectors are elevated to their uppermost'positions inejecting'fruit carcasses from .the lower cups. As shown in Fig. l, this 'o'or is semi-cylindrical in shape and concentric with the shaft |95' andl is cut away at 252 to provide ascraper blade" 253 which extends directly across'the path travelled by av .fruit carcass supported by an ejector in upwardmost position: Surrounding.l the concentric'portionY of the outer edge of *thev floor 25| is awall 251|. Opening downwardly from floor 25| isa. carcass dischargel pipe 255;

Mounted on the shaft |95 is a carcass'removing'paddle wheel 25a-having four paddles 251 forsweeping carcasses ontothe oor'25l andover thedischarge pipe 255 into which they drop. A' suitable container'or conveyor (not shown) is provided'to receive these carcasses fromr the lowerend of the pipe.

The various rotating elementsof the mechanism IIQ'are driven coordinatelxf as follows:

Referring to Fig. 2,l itV is noted thatshaft' 3| isconnected by a.: gear `transmissionA 260 toA a shaft-26|, which vdrivesthe shaft |35 through ai worm'gear transmissionA 2&2.' The shaft" |95"isi thus rotated', in the direction of the arrow' ad'- jacent thereto in Fig. l, ink timed relation with the rotation of 'the' juice extractor rotorl 5050' that each time one ofthe lower cupslapproach'es the carcass remover 25S; as a carcass *isA being ejectedupwardly from that cup, one of the arms 251 sweeps that carcassoff onto the scraper blade.

253 of the floor 25 i With theY continued rotation v/iththe paddleiwheel 256, this carcass is dropped CII the hole 237| Ysynchronously with the arrival 'of the respective Vlower cups 98V directly therebeneath so that as each piece of fruit-13,' conveyed by`r the wheel 2153 in one of the recesses 243 reaches lthe hole 23T, itgravitates through this into a cup 98 disposed therebeneath. It is, of course, als'oto be noted that eachwhole fruit, atthe time it is vthus fed through the'hole 231 into one of-the cups 98,' is travelling inthe same direction as saidcup and at substantially the same speed.

The shaft I 9| is valso provided with a spurgear ESG-which meshes with-a gear 28| xed on the shaft |87. The latter shaft also has a-v pinion sprocket 282 which is connected by a'chainv 283' to the sprocket 2I2 of the primary feeder wheel 2| l, whereby the latter is rotated in the direction of the arrow adjacent thereto in Fig. 1, and synchronously with the secondary feederv wheel 24|),y so that a piece of fruit Fis fed through the hole 205 of the primary feeder into each of the recesses'243 as this comes into position beneath and opposite one of the pockets 220H of the primary feeder;

Opfzraticml The motor 28V is rst energized to set in motion the various parts of the apparatus I5 as above described. Fruit F, selected by sizing to come within a range of sizes suitable for feeding bythe feeders ifand |81, is now fed through the chute 28 to the primary feeder wheel 2 I I. This fruit rolls down the deckv 23 and into the pockets 22E) of the rotating annulus 2 I8. The piece of fruitin' each pocket as the latter comes over the hole 205 drops downwardly through this holey into theV recess 21%3 immediately therebeneath andl is conveyed in this recess'by rotation of the wheel 240 in a semi-circular path until this piece ofV fruit is shifted outover the hole 231 just as acup 98 comes into position immediately therebeneath to receive the same.

Thus each of the cups 98 yhas a whole'fruit F fed thereto just after the roller |25 of the'ejector of that cup has travelled downwardly off of the high portion of the cam 20 so that the spacewithin the cup is unencumbered by the ejector and free to receive the fruit'delivered thereto'. Asthe rotor 59 turns from thisV point the upper cup 99' of this extraction device-9'! is forced downwardly'by cam to compress the fruit between the 'upper and lower cups, impale the fruit on the cutter' ID3 to cut a hole in the rindy following which the'fruit, whichr has been brought into Vconformitywith fthe inner surfacesof thetwoV cups by the pressure thereagainst, is constricted so as to expel the juice from the interiorof the fruit throughA the` hole formed in the rind by the cutter |03; This con'- striction of the fruitreduces it to a small fraction of the space formerly occupied'by it,A and' notv only removes the juice which flows downwardly through the passage It2'and the' tubeIDO, but expresses the oil from the rind'cf the .fruit by application of tremendous pressures thereagainst in the closely spaced localized areas in whichv the lingers of the `upper and lower'cupsengage Vthe rind 'of the fruit.

The juice thus expressed' flows downwardly froml the tubes Id!) of the various cupsinto the annular chamberv Gfrom' which .it flows through the pipe 92 into the reserviorSI.

Thel peel oilexpressed from the-peel ofthefruit thus treated gathers on the surfaces of the lower and upper cups and 99 from which the'oil gravitates ontothe stainless steel apron 12,' and from this into the trough 82 provided for receiving the same.

As the rotor 50 continues to rotate, the extraction operation just described is followed by the lifting of each of the upper cups 99 by the cam 40 engaging the cam follower wheel |33 of said upper cup. At the same time the ejector of the corresponding lower cup 98 is lifted by the roller |25 riding up onto the high point of the cam |20 until the carcass produced by the compression of the fruit Fis ejected from said lower cup as shown in Fig. 14, into a position where the carcass is supported on the ejector where it may be readily swept off by the paddle 25'! engaging the same as this carcass comes into contact with the scraper blade 253 of the carcass remover |82.

The annular hopper mouth 225 may be lowered to an adjusted level with this mouth extending inside of the pocket annulus 2 I8 so that the lower edge of this mouth engages the fruit and prevents a piece of fruit entering one of the pockets 220 which is too large to be yhandled by that particular annulus 2|8. The lower edge of the mouth 225 also serves to prevent the crowding of more than one piece of fruit into one of the Ipockets v220 where the pieces of fruit are of relatively small diameter.

Citrus fruit generally varies in diameter from as much as 41/2 inches to as little as 11/2 inches. It has been found preferable to segregate this fruit into two or three size groups and make extractors of the Pipkin type, illustrated herein, with two or three variations wit-h respect to the size of the cups 98 yand '99 with which these are fitted so that one machine will be provided with cups of a size suitable for handling each of the groups into which the fruit is divided. To adapt the feeder of this invention to handle each of these fruit size groups, the feed annulus 2 I8 of the primary feeder |80 is adapted to be replaced by yanother annulus with cups 220 of a different size. Thus all the other parts of the mechanism |19 of the present invention may be standard.

When the deck 200 is crowded with fruit, the latter tends to collect at the end of the baffle wall 203 towards which the annulus 2|8 travels. This wall extends between each piece of fruit, Within one of the pockets 220, and the pieces of fruit held from entering that pocket by the piece of fruit therein. The fruit thus excluded from the pocket is fed by friction with the annulus 2|8 along the inner face of the baille wall 203 and onto the travelling track 2|5 which is exposed through the window 202. This track carries this truck past the baille wall 203 after which it gravitates over the surface of the conical deck 200 and into one of the pockets 220.

While the 4invention is disclosed in its preferred form with a secondary feeder for transferring to the juice extractor a series of individual pieces of fruit into which the primary feeder breaks up the mass of fruit fed thereto, it is to be understood that it may be preferable in some circumstances to employ the primaryfeed-er itself to deliver individual pieces of fruit to the lower cups of the juice extractor. When the invention is to be so used, the primary feeder itself i-s positioned to extend between lower and upper cups 98 and 99 in a similar manner as the secondary feeder in the preferred embodiment extends between the-se cups. In that case the design of baille wall 203 and hole 205, and the direction of rotation of the 'annulus 2 I8 would be reversed 10 and the pieces of fruit would be dropped directly through the yhole 205 into the respective lower cups 98.

From the above remarks it is to be understood that the illustrated embodiment is subject to considerable modification while still remaining within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In la device for feeding whole citrus fruit, the combination of: a stationary substantially conical deck; an annulus rotating about a vertical axis passing through said conical deck, said annulus comprising an outer ring and la plurality of inwardly extending radial vertical blades, the annulus being located above and overlying the deck so that said ring, said blades and said deck form pockets to receive and transport the individual fruit, a portion of the deck being arranged to provide a downward opening for the discharge of fruit from the pockets; and a substantially concentric arcuate baille wall formed on said deck and rising therefrom closely adjacent to the mouths of said pockets, said wall 'being disposed adjacent the location of said downward opening to prevent the feeding of whole citrus fruit to any of said pockets while the latter is in alignment with said opening.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which said deck has an arcuate concentric window disposed just inwardly from said wall; a roughened track rotatably mounted concentric with said deck and therebeneath so as to appear through said window and support fruit just inwardly from said wall; and means to rotate said annulus and said track to accomplish the uniform feeding of fruit delivered in bulk onto said deck one at a time and at regular timed intervals downwardly through said opening.

3. A combination as in claim l including an annular hopper mouth member; and means for mounting said member on said annulus whereby said member is concentric therewith, said member fitting within said annulus, said mounting means including means for adjusting the vertical relation of said mouth with said annulus whereby the spacing of said mouth above said deck determines the diameter of fruit admissible between said deck and said annulus and into said pockets.

WILBUR A. PIPKIN. HENRY L. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 990,593 Ringland Apr. 25, 1911 1,044,905 Nesvant Nov. 19, 1912 1,109,861 Moss Sept. 8, 1914 1,173,308 Rockwell Feb. 29, 1916 1,248,339 Kallenbach Nov. 27, 1917 1,326,117 Thomas Dec. 23, 1919 1,698,476 Frova Jan. 8, 1929 1,710,074 Saviano Apr. 23, 1929 2,208,474 Carroll July 16, 1940 2,280,166 Sinden Apr. 21, 1942 2,420,679 Pipkin May 20, 1947 

